Christmas Day 2010

Jackson woke up Christmas morning and quickly woke everyone up in the house! Jackson asked for a "Car that he could drive himself - specifically a Stinger, a remote control car, and a Hotwheels racetrack. Lauren asked for a baby, a stroller and dress up clothes. The kids were anxious to see if Santa had brought what they wanted!

Jackson racing downstairs!

Lauren and Daddy were still sleepy.

Jackson pointed to his goodies from Santa.

Lauren went straight to her stroller and baby that Santa brought her.

Jackson immediately climbed into his Stinger.

Jackson got Legos!

Lauren unwrapping a present.

Lauren with her baby. She LOVED her baby!

Jackson with his remote control car.

Lauren and Jackson kept climbing in the Stinger. Notice, Lauren has her baby too!

Jackson was very happy with all of his presents!

Jackson went outside to see if the reindeer drank the water. They did! AND they ate some of the carrots!

Next, it was time to get dressed and give the Stinger a try! Have you ever put a 4 year old in a car that actually drives pretty fast with your 1 year old daughter as a passenger??? Luckily, my parents have the perfect driveway to learn how to drive! Jackson circled from my parents' driveway to the neighbors over and over again. Lauren LOVED it! She kept laughing and squealing with delight!

Off he goes!

Lauren loves the speed!

Lauren laughing again!

Later that day, Jackson got to break out his science lab that Mama J and Papa J gave him. He and Papa J had a good time conducting an experiment.

What a fun Christmas morning!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve was one to remember again this year!

Lauren loves playing with her babies.

My pretty girl.

Jonathan and Kaci prepared Christmas Eve dinner. It was YUMMY! It is good to have a brother in the meat business. Of course we had steak - bone-in ribeyes to be exact. Delicious!

Everyone got dressed to attend Christmas Eve services.

Uncle Jonathan with his niece and nephew.

Uncle Jonathan and Jackson.

Kaci's family joined us at church. After church, they came back to my parents' house for dinner.

Kaci with her niece and future niece. (The big day is April 30th. We can't wait!) Lauren ADORED baby Kennedy. (Isn't Kennedy precious? She was only a couple of days old at Christmas. Of course I cuddled her as much as possible.)

Jackson with his "Best Friend". Kenny plays football for the Aggies. He and Jackson are "best friend" and they even have a "Go Best Friend" chant. Kenny gave Jackson an autographed football helmet for Christmas.

Present opening time. The Perry's gave Lauren dress up clothes! Too fun!

After the Perry's left, it was time to get ready for Santa.

The kids put out a bucket of water for the reindeer and carrots for them too.

Jackson did not want to leave Santa regular milk. Santa had to have CHOCOLATE milk! Daddy helped Jackson make the chocolate milk.

Mommy and Lauren watched the chocolate milk making process.

Jackson and Lauren with the plate of cookies for Santa.

Jackson got the chocolate milk and cookies all set.

Jackson opened the doors to the chimney for Santa.

Off to bed for the kiddos!

Christmas on Campus

It has been a while since I have been on campus at Texas A&M. Dad and I decided to take the kids up and look around a little and get them out of the house. Our first stop was the bonfire memorial. I hadn't been to the memorial before. Because the kids were with us, I think that kept our emotions in check. We could not get emotional with two children under foot. I will never forget that November morning, waking up to the news that bonfire fell.

After walking around the Bonfire Memorial, we headed over to look at the big Aggie ring.

Lauren and Papa J playing around.

The kids loved running around the ring.

Lauren

I love this picture!

Lauren and Papa J.

Lauren ADORES her Papa J. I mean, really, really ADORES him. She just lights up when she sees him. He in turn, adores her too. I guess there is a special place in a grandpa's heart for his daughter's daughter. They have a special relationship, and I can't wait to watch them throughout the years.

Another special relationship to watch is the one between Papa J and Jackson. They are "buddies". Jackson wants to learn from Papa J, and do whatever he is doing. They are kindred spirits, and this grandfather/grandson relationship is a special one.

After looking at the big ring, we went inside the Clayton Williams Center and looked at all of the Aggie videos, and the Aggie ring display. Here, you can see some brother/sister love!

Jackson and Lauren watching a video about Aggie yells. Don't you love this picture??

Christmas with Grandma

The weekend before Christmas, we headed to Bristol to have Christmas with my grandma and Aunt Shirley and Uncle Billy. It was a fun evening! Thomas missed out on the event because he headed to Louisiana to be with his mother as she underwent a lumpectomy. Thankfully, the doctor's caught the Breast Cancer early, and she will make a speedy recovery!

Papa J and Lauren. Lauren ADORES her Papa J!

Jackson loves his Aunt Shirley!

Grandma and Lauren play together.

Lauren

Uncle Jonathan and Jackson

Jackson loves looking at Uncle Billy's train set!!

Mama J and Lauren

Kaci and Jackson

Lauren loved playing in Aunt Shirley's baby cradle.

Jackson helped Grandma open her presents.

Lauren loved her suitcase and stroller. I joked that she looked like me running though the airports trying to get to Italy! The girl is getting ready for adventures in life! Pushing a stroller while pulling a suitcase!! Now that's my type of girl!

Mama J and Papa J also gave the kids these cool cots! They sleep on cots at school for nap time. These cots will come in handy when we travel!

What a fun evening to set off the Christmas festivities!